Feliz Ano Novo! Plus a scary story

Dear Gee family,

Hello!! Wow...it was so good to hear all of your voices on Christmas day!!! It made me smile for hours after! I loved Christmas this year...the huge Christmas feast the night before, the crazy district Christmas parties, the special people we visited on Christmas day, singing Christmas hymns with Sister Oliveira for anyone who would listen....it was all great. But it hadn´t really felt 100% like Christmas until I heard all of your voices on the phone. It made me so happy!!! I love you all and I´m happy to hear that you had a wonderful and white, snowy Christmas! I´ll be home for Christmas 2011!! :D

This week was a very very good one. As I already mentioned, Christmas was wonderful! Sister Oliveira and I were invited by almost every family in the ward to spend Christmas with them.... :) haha, as you can tell, this ward is wonderful and there is a lot of love and support for missionary work! We spent Christmas night with Ivonne Schneider and her family, the oldest family in the church here in Novo Hamburgo! She has a big, happy, crazy and fun family and the night was full of games and food, a spiritual Christmas message, and a music talent show starring all of the grandchildren. I felt very much at home :)

The rest of the week was kind of hard to find people at home...almost everyone is traveling or visiting the beach right now, and I think that it is going to be the same for this next week too. But the visits that we did have were wonderful! Manoel came to church on Sunday and loved it! Afterwards we visited him in his house and he told us that he knows that Book of Mormon is true and Joseph Smith is a prophet. He told us that he is so happy that God is giving him the chance to find the truth while he is still here on this earth. :) It made me so happy to hear his testimony and see his happiness...it is obvious that he is suffering a lot from the leukemia and seems to be getting worse every day, but I love to remember what he said to us the other day "My body is very sick, but my spirit has never been healthier!"

He is such an amazing example to me of faith....he has complete confidence and trust in the Lord. I´m so grateful to have the chance to meet and know special people like Manoel....it´s wonderful to be a missionary!

Well family, I hope you are all doing very well and that you´re excited to start another wonderful new year! Life is wonderful isn´t it? It´s so great to know that every new year brings new experiences and new changes but that, thanks to the wonderful plan of our loving Heavenly Father, our family will always be our family. Forever and ever!

Happy New Year! I hope that you all have a wonderful night of partying and food and family and puzzles and fireworks.... I love you all!

Love, Sister Jamie Gee

Oh...and scary story for the week. Yesterday, Sister Oliveira and I were walking to an appointment, when suddenly a man barged right through the middle of us, running full speed and almost knocking me over. He looked at me and I saw pure terror in his eyes...so much fear in his face that it took me a while to notice that his hands were handcuffed behind his back. Sister Oliveira and I looked at each other in surprise and bewilderment...not really believing what we had seen...when suddenly the street was full of policemen with guns and police cars and siren....it was scary! At that exact moment, a man across the street came out of a shop and called "Sisters! Come in here!" It was Fabio my dear friend from the Timbaúva ward! I had no idea that he worked here in Novo Hamburgo. We ran across the street and waited in his shop and waited for the police to leave. haha, it was kind of scary at the time...but it was great that Fabio was right there at the exact right time. It´s no question that Heavenly Father loves and protects us!

Your story, Mom, reminded me of that too......I´m very very grateful that He is protecting our family!! Stay safe!!!! Love you!

New area! Novo Hamburgo

Querida famíla,

Hello dear family.....from Novo Hamburgo!! :)

Novo Hamburgo is a very beautiful city....and sooooo different than Montenegro. First of all....compared to Montenegro, this city is huge!! I was used to corn fields and calm grassy pastures and dirt streets....and suddenly I´m in a busy bustling city. The area is 6 times bigger than Timbaúva....and the investigators we are teaching live miiiiiiles apart. And minha nossa!! Hills!!!! I´ve never seen bigger hills....the entire city is like Timpview drive!!! haha.... my legs and feet were reeeeally complaining the first few days, but I´m quickly adjusting (I´m just talking about blisters and sore muscles....my sesamoid bone is just fine, Mom :D)

We live in a apartment building on the 8th floor and have a beautiful view of the whole city. It really is a beautiful city...very green! I will have to send pictures next week :)

Sister Oliveira is amaaaazingly fun! She has 9 months on the mission and is from São Paulo and I don´t think I´ve ever met anyone in my entire life that has so much energy and love for life! She is soooo happy! Always smiling and glowing and bursting with excitement. It makes it really easy for me to feel happy and excited about the missionary work too...so much that this week, even though our days are still packed full with lessons and appointments, hasn´t even felt like work! It´s just fun :) We are always laughing and singing all day long... in the streets, in our apartment, in the elevator, for the doorman in our apartment...haha, it´s very fun and I am loving it.

We have amazing investigators here right now! It was a really fun week getting to know all of them...and we also were busy with more of the "Mundo Feliz" DVD references. My favorite experience of the week was our lesson with a man named Manoel. Manoel is 40ish years old, has no family and lives alone, and makes his living by selling lanches (hotdogs and empanadas) in the streets......and I have never met anyone more Christ-like in my life. Manoel has amazing faith and love...you can see it in his eyes and on his face. Manoel also has leukemia and has been very very sick the last few months. We visited with him on Saturday night with Daniel and Gisele (members in the ward that gave us his name) and he really liked the lesson! We taught him about the restoration of the gospel and he was really interested and excited for us to come back ....

But the next day, Sunday, Daniel and Gisele said that he had suddenly gotten so sick during the night that he had been admitted in the hospital. So right after church, Sister Oliveira and I rushed to the hospital to visit him. When we entered the hospital, we were informed that regular visiting hours had ended for the week, but that as religious missionaries we would be allowed to enter to visit him. It was very humbling to see...instead of hospital rooms, each person was assigned to small hospital cots that lined both sides of the narrow and dark hallway. It was very crowded and very noisy, with nurses and doctors squeezing past....but when we found Manoel he was brimming with happiness and light! His bright and happy smile seemed very out of place in that chaotic and depressing place... He asked us if he could say a prayer with us, and during the prayer he thanked Heavenly Father for the chance he had to be in the hospital to be a light for the people that were suffering. His prayer was very sincere and humble...it felt like a real conversation with Heavenly Father. Manoel has so much faith!

Manoel had another visitor, a young woman named Kátia, with him.....she was staying in the hospital with her very sick brother that had already been there for 3 months. Sister Oliveira and I didn´t know how long we would be able to stay before being kicked out, so we just visited with them both for a little while... As we were leaving I had the thought to ask his friend if she would like a Book of Mormon....but because we were in a hurry and because we hadn´t even talked about the church to her, I just dismissed the thought. Instead I just gave her a hug and asked her if there was anything we could do for her......and do you know what she asked for??? She asked if we had some kind of book that she could read because the hours passed really slowly in the hospital and she wanted something to get her mind off her sick brother. !!!! Haha...I said, yes of course we had a book for her. A very special book. A book called the Book of Mormon. :) ...haha, It was a strong reminder to me that we should never doubt or hesitate when we receive a prompting from the Holy Ghost. Just act! I know that we can be led in every moment if we choose to listen. It was also a testimony to me that this is the Lord´s work and that He is helping us every day...Even if we aren´t perfect, as long as we are trying He won´t let us fail. Heavenly Father is so kind. I know that He loves each of us so much!

Well family, remember that I love you! You are all always in my prayers. I am so excited to talk to you on Christmas Day!!

Love always,

Sister Jamie Gee

Tchau, Timbaúva!; First transfer in Brazil

Olá Família!

The biggest news of the week is that, sadly, this will be my last P-day here in Montenegro.... Yup. My short but wonderful time here in the Ala Timbaúva is coming to an end and tomorrow I´m going to be transferred! I wasn´t even expecting to be transferred... There is a sister in our mission, Sister Mota, that is having a lot of problems with her knees and since Timbaúva is the flatest and calmest area in the mission, it´s normally where the missionaries that have health problems are assigned. So we all assumed that she would be coming here to Timbaúva...and since she´s already been companions with Sister Inhuma, we were all sure that I would be staying here to be her companion. haha, Sister Inhuma even started saying goodbye to the members yesterday and packing her suitcases last night.... And now we´re going to have to visit everyone again tonight and tell them that actually I am the one that is leaving!

My first transfer of the mission. It seems like I just arrived here yesterday and now I´m already leaving behind my first area. Crazy... I am sad and happy and excited all at the same time. I´m sad to be leaving everyone here.... I really feel like I have a second family here in Montenegro with the members in the ward. I learned a lot from the people that I met in this area. The members are so kind and loving and generous and fun! And I´m really really going to miss being companions with Sister Inhuma! It was such a fun and short 6 weeks... But I am happy and excited to see where I´ll go next. I know that good times are ahead....for all of us! :)

"Life can only be understood by looking back....but it can only be lived by looking ahead!"

This also means I´ll be spending Christmas in a new area. 14 days until Christmas! I´m very excited to talk to you all :) Speaking of Christmas, Sister Inhuma and I had many more wonderful experiences with the DVD "Mundo Feliz" this week....there is no better way to find new investigators and invite people to learn more about the church then with the beautiful spirit of Christmas!

Sister Inhuma and I have the best investigators right now!! The people we are teaching are so great...so humble and teachable. Charlene is incredible!! I really have never met anyone who has so much desire to learn....every lesson we have with her is powerful and she always asks the most perfect questions. The kind of investigator that every missionary wants to find. And Michele is the same way! We invited her to read the Book of Mormon just 1 week ago and she is already finishing 2 Nefi and loving it! Haha...that´s funny that Michele added me on Facebook. She was begging me to teach her Michael Jackson songs in english...haha, but we taught her EFY songs in English instead. I think she still liked it :) awww...I´m sad to be leaving them!!

Tonight will be a night of farewells! We have a Noite Familiar marked with Idimir and Eliane and family....which I think will be a PERFECT way to spend my last night here :) Sister Inhuma is going to teach us how to make tapioca....a recipe from Recife!! mmmmm.... She has been talking about tapioca, agua de côco, beaches and other wonderful things from Recife aaaaall transfer long :)

I love you all so much! Remember that we are so blessed and that we have every reason in the world to be happy and smiling! :)
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee

Feliz Dezembro!! Happy December!

Oí família!
Happy December! I can´t believe we´re already in the last month of the year! :) December is a wonderful month...even with the Brazilian summer heat it´s beginning to feel like Christmas here in Montenegro. It seems like everyone is a little happier, smiles are spread a little easier, and people on the streets are even more willing to stop and listen to two sister missionaries that have a message about Jesus Christ. I think the month of December is a wonderful time to be a missionary! :)

Our ward here is catching the Christmas spirit too. The "Mundo Feliz" program that Presidente Pavan started is having great success in our area! We´ve been busy all week with referrals from members that want to give the DVD as a Christmas present for their friends and family. My favorite visit was with Jussane (a member in the ward) for her neighbor Ines... Ines is a really nice lady but it seems like she´s had a hard life and she has a lot of sadness in her eyes...especially when she talks about her children, who both live far away. She seemed a little closed and grumpy when we first entered, and I wasn´t sure how the visit was going to go. As we crowded around her small TV (Sister Inhuma and I and Jussane´s entire family!) and watched the DVD, a beautiful and peaceful spirit filled the room. I felt the Spirit especially strongly as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir began to sing "Silent Night" (my absolute Favorite Christmas hymn!) and the shepherds knelt down by the manger to worship the newborn baby Jesus. I felt very strongly the love that Jesus Christ has for each one of us...and especially that He has for this wonderful and lonely lady that had invited us into her home. I glanced over at her and saw tears in her eyes too. It was amazing the difference in the room and in her eyes after the DVD ended and we all talked about Jesus Christ and what He means for each one of us. She was smiling the entire time we were bearing testimony and was very quick to ask when we could come back and share more about the gospel. :) We, as members of the church, are really so so blessed to know what we know! I think that if we realized how much joy it brings into the lives of those that don´t have, we would be even more eager and anxious to share the gospel!

This week we also had Conferência de Zona de Natal! Christmas Zone Conference!! It was so much fun to be with all the other missionaries....4 out of the 6 zones in our mission were there! I was super happy to see Sister Cidre too! Elder Nielsen and Elder Cazeau (other friends from the Provo MTC) were also there and it was really great to see them again and to hear all about their new areas and companions and experiences. Presidente and Sister Pavan gave each missionary a beautiful new bible and all of us sister missionaries had a "white elepant" gift exchange. It´s really beginning to feel like Cristmas! :) The best part of the conference was that Elder Aschonavieta a member of the Seventy came to speak to us. He served as mission president of the Fortaleza mission and had amazing stories and counsel for us. It was powerful! I think that we all left the conference feeling motivated to improve and excited to serve the Lord the very best that we can! He also spoke about the Atonement and the gift of repentance that we should use daily in our lives. We should constantly be repenting and seeking to improve and better understand the will of the Lord.

Michele is still doing wonderfully! She is beginning to read the Book of Mormon and she told us that it is bringing peace into her life...something that she had been looking for before we knocked on her door. I really love Michele...she is so sweet and loving and she never complains even though I know that her cancer makes her feel worried and scared at times. It´s wonderful to be able to bear testimony to her that Heavenly Father knows her and loves her, that Jesus Christ understands exactly how she is feeling and that He will always be there for her. I know that is true! It is true for each and every one of us :)

It´s wonderful to be a missionary!! I love you all and am very happy to hear that you are all doing so well at home! I love you all soooo much. I can´t wait to talk to you all on Christmas day!!! It´s really all I want for Christmas this year :D

I love you!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee

Thanksgiving in Timbauva; ward is "on fire"

Hi dear family! Wow.......I feel very loved today! Looooots of emails to read! Thank you so much for all of the emails and love :) and.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELISSA! I hope you have a wonderful and fun 20th birthday!!

It sounds like you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Sister Inhuma and I had a fun Brazilian Thanksgiving too :) I was super happy to see that we had lunch scheduled with Rita, Alex, and Pai on Thursday....what luck!! Sister Inhuma and I made pumpkin pie (thanks for the recipe, mom!) to bring to the feast...and it was soooo yummy!!

Everyone loved it, even though they said it was MUCH different than anything they had ever tried. haha...it was fun

It really is starting to feel like Christmas here....even in the 90 degree weather and the lack of snow. Sister Inhuma looooooves music and always has something playing the moment she wakes up in the morning until we leave for the day....and then the moment we walk in the door until lights out. (she reminds me of you, Melissa) And now that December is arriving...it´s all Christmas music! It´s really getting me into a festive, cheerful spirit!

Speaking of Christmas...my mission president, Presidente Pavan, started a new program with the Christmas DVD "Mundo Feliz" ("Joy to the World") for our mission this December. All of the members were asked to think of families that they knew and that they´d like to share the gospel with. And during the month of December the missionaries will be making visits with them to watch the DVD with the family in their home. Our ward is super excited about this program....to tell you the truth, the ward seems to suddenly be on fire with the "missionary work" spirit. I think a lot of it has to do with the recent baptism of Idimir and Eliane and their family....it´s gotten everyone excited and eager to share the gospel! Sister Inhuma and I have already received over 20 names of different families....it´s going to make this month a very busy and happy one :) No better way to get ready for Christmas!!!

So guess what....once again we found some wonderful new investigators this week!! Michele is a 21 year old girl that we found knocking doors. She is so sweet and kind and was really interested in learning more about the church. I was very amazed at how happy and loving she was...especially after I learned that she has been sick with cancer and not been able to leave her home for 3 months. It´s amazing how much love and faith some people have, that keeps them smiling and serving even when their own lives are difficult. I´m really learning a lot about love from the people that I am meeting here every day...

We also began teaching a couple that I am very excited about....Charlene and Luciano. A family from the Montenegro ward gave us their names and from the first day that we met them, I knew that I was going to love teaching them! Charlene always has a huge smile and is always always laughing. Luciano was really interested in our message, especially in the Book of Mormon, and had a lot of great and perfect questions. I´m really excited to visit them again!

Well, I love you all sooo much! Thank you for all of your prayers and emails. You´re words of advice are exactly what I need and keep me feeling happy and loved. Remember that Heavenly Father loves us so much and that He wants us to have joy! I love serving as a missionary here in Brazil and I feel His love for me and for His children every single day. We are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives and for the peace and joy that it brings :) I love you all!!

Love, Sister Jamie Gee

Thanksgiving Week and counting the blessings :)

Hello dear family that I love!

Happy Thanksgiving Week! Are you all excited for Thanksgiving? Wow...I can´t believe that the holidays are already arriving!! Time is going so quickly... This week was a fabulous one for me and Sister Inhuma here in Timbaúva. I love being her companion...she is so kind and loving and super fun too :) This week we celebrated her 9-month mark on the mission with....of course...chocolate!! She´s half-way done already! Craaaazy.... I want to enjoy every moment of my mission...because it´s going to go very fast!

The happiest news of the week was that Ana Carla came to church!! I was so excited to see her and her 2 year old daughter, Nicole, walk in the door. From the very first day that we met her, I knew that she was special...she is very humble and loving and has incredible faith...I was sure that she was going to be quick to accept the gospel! But for one reason or another it has always always been difficult to get her to come to church... So I was super happy and surprised to see her this Sunday. :) She loved it too! The ward´s Primary Program was this week....and it was a perfect day for her to come! Family is very important to her and I could tell that she really liked hearing the testimonies of the primary children. Ana Carla is leaving this week for a month long trip to visit her parents in Maceió this December....so I´m not sure exactly what will happen when she gets back. But I´m so happy that I got to teach her and get to know her and hear her sweet and powerful testimony....and I´m excited for the lucky sisters that get to teach her when she gets back in January. Who knows....maybe I´ll still be here :)

I´m also excited about another young woman that Rita is the daughter-in-law of a member in the ward. Her husband, Márco, is not active and not interested...but Rita has shown a lot of interest in the church the last few months, thanks to the example and testimony of her mother-in-law Tânia. She´s been going to church and to the ward activities and always comments on the Spirit she feels there and the happiness that all the members seem to have. This Sunday when we were at her home reading the Book of Mormon together, she told us that she had been praying for a long time to know if it was true without receiving an answer. But the night before, she said her prayers and opened the Book of Mormon to read a few verses as normal....only this night was different. She said that as she read she was filled with a strong spirit of peace and happiness and suddenly had a huge desire to read more and more. Even though it was late at night, she said that she read for hours and didn´t even feel tired. She was so happy as she told us this story and about her new testimony of the Book of Mormon...her eyes were glowing! :) Isn´t great how Heavenly Father hears and answers every single prayer? He loves us sooo much...

Thank you for all of your prayers for me and for the people that we are teaching here. :) I love you all and you´re all in my prayers too! Welcome to the neighborhood, Mike and Candy! I know you will love the Edgemont ward....everyone is very welcoming and loving. I´m excited to be your neigbor when I get home! I hope that everyone is getting excited for Thanksgiving!! Are you going to make a Razzleberry pie since I won´t be there, Megan? haha...

I love you all! It´s Thanksgiving Week and we have sooo much to be grateful for! I´m very grateful to be a missionary and to be serving the Lord in Brazil. I´m grateful for the knowledge that Jesus Christ lives, that He is my Savior, and that He loves and knows me. I´m grateful that we are members of the restored church of Jesus Christ and that we have a prophet to lead us and guide us. I´m very grateful that I have a loving family at home...and for the knowledge that we´re going to be together forever! :) We are so blessed.
Love you!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee

As famílias poderão ser eternas! Baptism of a family!

Hello dear family!

It is another beautiful Tuesday afternoon here in Timbaúva! This week was a fast one...filled with new investigators, lessons, much walking, and a looooot of hot weather. Summer is arriving! :)

My favorite part of the week was, of course, Sunday afternoon when Idimir and Eliane and their two sons Fladimir and Eduardo were baptized. The whole family together! It was so wonderful to see them all standing together dressed in white. The first time in my life that I have seen an entire family baptized together! There is always a special spirit with every baptism....but seeing a family together was extra wonderful! Heavenly Father really does love families :) Haha...The two boys, Fladimir and Eduardo are so great! They love the gospel, are reading the Book of Mormon, and already talking about the day when they will be missionaries! Sister Inhuma and I took pictures of them in the white baptism clothes and wearing our missionary name tags :) Eliane looked especially happy....and as she watched her two sons be baptized it seemed like she was glowing! And Idimir...what a great, strong, faithful father...It was his testimony of the gospel that helped the rest of his family want to be baptized too.... Ah, I love this family so much and I feel so blessed to have been one of the missionaries to help teach them! There really is no greater feeling.... :)

Tonight we´re going to have another Noite Familiar with Rose! Out of all the people here in Timbaúva, I think I feel the closest to Rose....she is sooo amazing. Sweet and loving and so Christ-like....

She was taught by the sisters has been going to church for almost a year already...Marlon, her 13 year old son has already been baptized and Natália her 7 year old daughter will be when she turns 8 in January. But since Rose is not legally married, and her "husband" doesn´t want to get married, she hasn´t been able to be baptized herself. I think it is hard for her to watch her children be baptized and to still be waiting for the day when she will be able to be baptized. Rose is so sweet and good and has so much faith and trust in Heavenly Father....I know that one day she will receive all the blessings she is desiring right now... Heavenly Father loves each one of us and is so good and kind...we just need to be patient and trust in Him :) Her husband, Márcio, is not a bad person.....he is actually very very awesome! haha, I´m not sure how to describe him. At first I was really intimidated by him because he is very gruff and sarcastic...and he´s super smart too! But after getting to know him it´s easy to see that behind the grumpiness he is very very sweet. He just doesn´t like being pressured into things and he is very very stubborn...for a long time he was very against the church and he even refused to let the sisters in his home. But I can definitely see that the Lord is slowly softening his heart....the family nights we have with them are always wonderful and he participates a lot too. The members in the ward are also heling a lot (because everyone loves Rose!) to make friendships with him. When the ward had a Noite de Sorvete last Friday (Ice Cream Night!) I was super surprised and very happy to see Máricio walk in the chapel door! Slowly but surely he's progressing.... :)

Sister Inhuma and I also found a new family that I´m very excited about....First of all, because the dad´s name is Greg! :D Just like you, Dad! Well...actually it´s spelled Grig...but it sounds the same :) Greg and Rosângela are the parents of 3 beautiful daughters...Brenda (11), Pietra (2), and Isadora (18 days!!) We had a wonderful first lesson with them and I´m excited to go back this week.

There is a lot of joy and love in their home....a lot of it, I´m sure, because of the brand new baby in the home :) Isadora is so tiny! Looking into her pure eyes it seems like you can feel Heavenly Father´s love....

Well, I am glad that you are all well and happy....You are always in my prayers! Each and every one of you... Stay safe and choose to be happy! Remember...God does not dwell in sorrow or melancholy, but in light and happiness! And as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and as sons and daughters of Heavenly Father, we have every reason to be happy! Life is meant to be loved!!! :) I love you all!

Love, Sister Jamie Gee

How great shall be your joy!

Dear family!

Hello from Montenegro! The biggest news of the week.....I have a new companion! Sister Inhuma from Recife....well, actually she´s from Bahia, but her family moved to Recife 4 years ago. I had heard a lot before about Bahians. Every one talks about their calm, easy-going way of life....and it´s so true with Sister Inhuma! I could tell after our very first conversation....calm and peaceful and gentle. The way she walks the way she talks.... Haha...it´s almost the exact opposite of Sister Gibson who was always full of energy and loud and fuuuun!! It´s definitely been different....but so good too. Sister Inhuma has a gift for loving people and the members here are already noticing and loving her. I love hearing her bear testimony in her calm, relaxing voice in every lesson....she really brings the Spirit! I can already tell that I´m going to love being her companion.

So, I forgot to tell you before that when we have transfers (every 6 weeks) our P-day is on a Monday instead of a Tuesday....that way the missionaries that are being transferred have time to pack and clean the apartment I suppose. Sorry for forgetting to tell you earlier! But I guess it didn´t really matter...because I wrote 2 long emails last week and couldn´t get either one to send! I´ll have to sum up the last 2 weeks in this email.....:)

I had a wonderful last week in the trio with Sister Gibson and Sister Cidre! Sister Gibson was getting very excited and anxious to be heading home...but she kept working hard right up to the very end. We marked 6 baptisms in her last week! Fernanda (14) and Indiara (15) (sisters of Luana ...we´ve been teaching them for the last few weeks) and Idimir (before I spelled it as Edemir...but I was wrong :) Eleane and their two sons Fladimir (12) and Eduardo (8)! It was a good last week for Sister Gibson to end her mission with. The entire week was filled with farewells and parties. Mmmmm....Saturday we had a churrasco with the bishop as a farewell for Sister Gibson....and it was Ammmmaazing!! I have had many many churrascos here...but none even come close in comparison! It was so great....chicken heart, liver, beef, pork ribs, cow heart, sausage.... Imagine Tucanos, but a million times better! And with soooo much meat. I think Jared should serve his mission here...I´m pretty sure he would like it a lot :)

Fernanda and Indiara were baptized on Sunday and I think it was the most beautiful baptism I had ever seen. We´ve been teaching them for about a month and I love them both so much. Fernanda is quiet and gentle and I´ve never met anyone so pure and good! She has been excited about her baptism every since we challenged her to be baptized......Indiara was a little more hesitant though. Indiara really likes going to church and to the activities (mostly because of the amazing young women that we have in our ward that are so loving! We as members, can make a huuuge difference in missionary work!!) but I could tell that she seemed a little unsure about being baptized. On Friday we were teaching them one last time before being interviewed by the elders.....and I was amazed with the difference in Indiara! She was so happy and she had a light in her eyes....literally glowing! I asked her if she was ready to be baptized...and she burst into a smile when she said yes. Then she bore a sweet and powerful testimony of the answer that she had received to her prayer the night before when she was praying to know if being baptized was the right thing to do. She said that for the first time in her life she felt the Holy Ghost answering...and she felt joy and light and knew that it was an answer from God! :) I think that I felt more happiness in that moment than I have felt during my entire mission....it is so wonderful to know that Heavenly Father loves us and that He hears every prayer! I know He really does!

It was really a beautiful baptism....I could feel Heavenly Father´s love for them so strongly and both Indiara and Fernanda were shining with happiness!! And almost the entire ward was there!....Fernanda and Indiara are very loved by all the members here. Roselei, their mother, came to watch the baptism and I could tell that she was very touched. We´re good friends from all the visits, and as she was leaving she gave me a hug and told me that she had decided she was going to start coming to church on Sundays with her daughters :) :) :)

What a good good week...and this week we´re going to be busy with 6 more baptisms! On Friday two 8 year old girls, Melody (member) and her friend that always goes to church with her, Maria Luisa. And Sunday afternoon will be the baptisms of Idimir´s family....the entire family together!! I´m very excited.

We also started teaching a new family this week....Márcia, the mother, Luana (14), and Bianca (6). Their husband/father died unexpectedly earlier this month from a heart attack. I really love this family...they have so much faith and love. Márcia is always kind and receptive when we visit...but you can see a lot of sadness in her eyes still, even when she´s smiling. It makes me hurt inside to think about how sad and lonely she is. I really want to help them....I know that the love of Jesus Christ can heal all pain and sadness.

Wow....I can´t believe all the fun things that you are doing at home. I am very very happy to hear that you are keep busy and doing so many wonderful things. I miss you all very much, and I am very happy to be serving the Lord here in Brazil. I am learning new things every day....most of all I am gaining a stronger and stronger testimony of the love that Heavenly Father has for each of us. He is so good and kind and He loves us more than we know :) I love seeing the changes in people´s lives and eyes when they being to realize that...

Life is wonderful!
Keep smiling and serving and being an example to everyone you meet!
I love you all!!! Love, Sister Jamie Gee

E-mail troubles; Staying in Timbaúva for another 6 weeks; Picture included!

I wrote a long and wonderful email today....twice! And both times it got deleted....the first time because the power went out and the second time because of some internet problem...who knows...
So next week I will tell you all about this last week....it was wonderful, just so you know :) Tell the family that I love them and miss them!!
Love you!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee
PS....transfers are tomorrow!!! Annnnnd....I´m staying in Timbaúva for another 6 weeks!! I´m very very very happy about that. And excited to meet my new companion! :) I hope it´s a Brazilian!!!!
Love you!
Bye!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween, dear family!!!!
This week was a good one...and a fast one....
On Friday we traveled back to Porto Alegre so that Sister Gibson could renew her visa before leaving the country next week. So soon!! :( I´m sad to think that things will be changing here in Timbaúva....I liked these last two weeks working in our trio. But I´m sure that whatever happens with the new change, it will be great. Two sisters are leaving and only one is arriving next transfer, which means that we´ll have an even number of sisters again...which means either Sister Cidre or I will be leaving Timbaúva (unless crazy Dad! That would be scary :) I really hope I stay! We are teaching a lot of great families right now that are really progressing! I´d really love to stay and continue teaching them :)

I can´t remember if I wrote before about Edemir and Eleane...but they are really progressing! They loved church on Sunday and are reading the Book of Mormon as a family every night. Their two sons...Fladimir (12) and Eduardo (8) already have many friends with the other boys in the ward. Haha...they came to our English class that we give every Friday night a little early, so they sat in on our lesson on baptism with Sílvio and watched as he "practiced" inside the font with Irmão Adão. Afterwards they were really curious and they asked us so many questions about baptism....and when we told them that anyone over the age of 8 could be baptized, Eduardo´s eyes got really big and he said "That means I can be baptized then!!" Haha... :) He is a Very smart boy for his age....and curious. He reminds a lot of you, Justin :)

Our Noite Familiar with Daniel and Leoni was soooo great. There was such a good feeling in that home....peace and full of love :) It´s amazing the difference that I can see between Daniel and Leoni....so different than the first time that we taught them! Two months ago, when we started teaching them, the argued and fought every time we visited them! They are a young couple that have been together for 3 years, not married, and with 2 little boys....Leonardo (3) and Guillerme (2)....and with the children crying, dogs barking, and the couple shouting at each other, I thought that our lessons were not making any difference. But it´s amazing the change in the home now! They have been reading the Book of Mormon and praying together at night... they speak to each other with love and kindness and gratitude....it´s amazing what a difference God´s love can make in our lives if we let it :)

And the best news of the week....Sílvio was baptized on Saturday morning!!! It was such a great baptism.....I could feel the Holy Ghost so strongly. I remember, Mom, you talking about the baptisms of the primary children that you got to attend and the special spirit that you always felt....and I really understand what you meant! Sílvio asked me to give the talk before he was baptized and while I was speaking I could see the happiness and excitement in his face! And that feeling stayed with me the whole day! Sister Gibson and Sister Cidre and I realized that we were feeling extra happy the rest of the day.... We decided that we wanted to make it a habit of starting our days with a baptism...every day :) haha...

Well it is time to leave again! P-day is ending and we´re starting our last week here in Timbaúva as a trio....Sister Gibson´s very last week of her mission!! Sigh...I never liked change. But I suppose it´s something I need to get used too :) And it is very true that so far in my life, changes just have meant that something even better is coming!!

I hope you are all well and happy at home! Tell me about Halloween!! Do you all have great costumes? A slice of bacon, Kyle!?!?!? haha....that is soooo awesome. I really really want to see pictures. I´m sure that Megan will come up with something crazy and creative again, like always. And I´m also almost certain that Justin is planning on being....a BYU Football player! haha.... You better dress up Jared! Just because you´re a senior in high school doesn´t mean you have an excuse :) Is there a Halloween dance at Timpview? I want to hear all about it.... :) Melissa!! Are you freezing in Rexburg yet? I hope that you bought a new coat....I think about you every time that I wear yours :D haha... I hope that Ryan and Celecta do something cute and couple-ly for their costumes :) Wow Mom and Dad, I think that both of you need a vacation! Even though you just got back from vacation this week :) You two are so incredible...I don´t know how you do it all. And do it all so well too!! Thank you for being the best parents ever for me and for our whole family....I love you all so much!

Love you!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee

Senior companion (for a day)

Olá querida família!

What a great week! The biggest news of the week is that the amazing double (Sister Gibson and me) is now an amazing triple!! Yup, last Wednesday in the middle of companionship study we received a call from President Pavan. He told us that an american sister who had been serving in Chicago had received her visa and would be arriving later that day. Sister Rebecca Cidre from Las Vegas!!! I knew her in the Provo MTC for 5 days before I left for São Paulo...and now we would be companions in Brazil! How exciting and happy....:) It´s been really different working in a trio, but I really like it. Sister Cidre speaks Portuguese soooo well....I remember having a LOT more difficulty when I arrived :) It´s really great to have someone to do language study with and to practice new vocabulary....

Since Sister Gibson is training again, we knew that she would be going to Porto Alegre on Monday for the meeting they have every transfer for leaders and trainers....and I was very excited to spend the day again with the sisters in Bom Sucesso... But on Sunday when the zone leaders called they told us that Sister Cidre and I would stay and work in our area. Alone!! For an entire day!! And Sister Cidre not knowing the area at all....!!!! haha, I was scared! Yes, I´ve been here a long time now, but I´ve always had Sister Gibson to rely on and I was nervous that I wouldn´t be able to find my way around the area or understand Portuguese enough to be able to teach.....

But what a great day it was!! I´m pretty sure it was my favorite day on my mission so far...so so so great! Sister Cidre is so great and fun and loving and kind....haha, and very patient when I took her down a wrong road and we had to backtrack a few times :) It was such a great day.. The lessons that we taught seemed more powerful and personal than normal....full of the Spirit!! Almost as if Heavenly Father knew that we needed some extra help and was filling in our stammered Portuguese with a huge abundance of the Holy Ghost :) The best lesson was with Ana Carla and her husband Andre. We were teaching about the Holy Ghost and how we can recognize promptings...Ana Carla shared an experience that she had the night before when her daughther, Nicole was sick with a high fever. She prayed and felt a powerful feeling of comfort and assurance that she didn´t need to worry. As Sister Cidre and I testified that this was the Holy Ghost the feeling of peace and love in the room was soooo strong.....so we decided to invite them to be baptized, and they both accepted!! :D Haha, after the lesson Ana Carla asked us what our church believes about the lingua de anjos (gift of tongues) and I laughed as I told her that it was what she had just witnessed! It´s the promise that we all have from our Heavenly Father that when we put our trust in Him and open our mouths to share the gospel, He will give us the words that we should say and He will give our words the power to touch hearts. :) What a great day...I have a strong testimony of that now...

Silvio is still doing great and is super excited about his baptism this Saturday! He still calls us daily to let us know that he is reading the Book of Mormon....haha. I´ve never met anyone so anxious to do good and to follow Jesus Christ. You can really tell how grateful he is to have the gospel in his life and how much happier it has made him. He carries his Bible and Book of Mormon with him wherever he goes and is always always always telling everyone he meets about the gospel. :) A good example for us all...

Oh! And along with Sister Cidre arrived the two packages that you sent....Thank you sooo much!!!! I was so so happy to open them. :) The candy bar letter was so cute! Thank you so much...mmm, and it was so great to eat american candy! The letters made me so happy...I was smiling for hours and hours after reading them! You are all so great and I´m glad that you´re all loving school and staying so busy and happy! The sweater came in perfect timing too because Thursday was a coooold day to travel to Novo Hamburgo. Thank you so much family!!! I love you!


Well, we have to run because we have a appointment marked with Simone and Adelar and family.....Irmão Adão (the mission leader) is coming with us! I´m so excited. We also have a churrasco planned tonight with another investigator....Sister Cidre´s first! Haha...it seems that I am writing about churrasco in every email these days!! Lucky lucky me :)

I love you all so much! Thank you again for the letters...and for all your love and prayers. Remember to always be grateful and happy....we are so so blessed :)
Have a wonderful week!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee

Dog bite! (with a smile)

Olá querida família!

What a crazy busy exciting and wonderful week! I am loving being here in Montenegro and can´t believe how quickly the time is flying by... Today is Dia das Crianças here in Brazil....which means no one had school/work all weekend long! Everyone is enjoying the last day of vacation today.....you can smell churrasco in every back yard :) I love Brazil. It´s been a very relaxing P-day...churrasco with the Primary this morning and we spent the afternoon with Rita and Alex.....which is good, because we needed a calm day after this week!!

Quinta-feira (Thursday) both Sister Gibson and I woke up feeling veeeery queasy. We think it was some left-over "bolinhas de chuva" that Leoni had given us the day before (they´re like scones....but with sugar :D) It wasn´t too terrible...but we also had an hour bus ride to Novo Hamburgo for district meeting that was not very enjoyable with a queasy stomach. We made it to the chapel, greeted all the other missionaries, and had just started the meeting when Sister Gibson grabbed my arm and ran with me to the bathroom....She definitely had food poisioning and threw up over and over. We spent the rest of the district meeting there in the bathroom :) Poor Sister Gibson...

The next day Sister Gibson was feeling much better and we were excited and ready for a very busy day with a lot of work....and then 15 minutes after leaving our apartment I got bit by a dog! The first appointment we had was a reference from the sisters in the center, in a poorer neighborhood with loooots of dogs....everywhere! Sister Gibson knocked at the first house (here in Brazil you stand in the street in front of the house and clap your hands...very fun :) and I think the noise frightened the dogs and they all went crazy! One ran up to me and clamped down on my ankle... It didn´t hurt very bad and there wasn´t very much blood....but because it was a street dog Sister Pavan wanted me to get the rabies vacine. We had to leave our area to go to the health center and then spent All day waiting to get the vacine....and I have to go back 4 more times! haha...funny and frustrating. :)

So after 2 days of not getting very much accomplished, we were Very anxious and excited to get to back to work on Saturday. We had a goal to get our investigators to church this Sunday, something that has been difficult in the past, so we made that our focus all Saturday....but because it was a holiday weekend, we didn´t have much success. Everyone was going out of town, or expecting company.....it didn´t seem like we would have a single investigator in church this Sunday. But Sunday came and we were surprised and super happy to have 2 new investigators that we´ve never even taught before show up to church! One already asking to be baptized! Haha...it´s great how when you try so hard and work and work and see very little results, the Lord steps in and blesses you so much :)

Sílvio is 38 years old and showed up in the chapel wanting to know when he could be baptized. :) He was taught by the sisters before, but wasn´t ready to accept the gospel then. But I think some things happened in his life that humbled him and made him turn more to Jesus Christ. Sílvio has so much faith...we gave him another copy of the Book of Mormon and he has already read all of 1st and 2nd Nephi! He seemed nervous to stay for all 3 meetings at first, I think he felt a little out of place with all of the other members in suits and dresses.....but the members were so great and loving and made him feel very comfortable. I´m very excited for him!

Andrews was the other investigator that showed up on Sunday. He is so awesome! :) Andrews is 15 years old and we contacted him on the street a few weeks ago...but he didn´t seem very interested so we just gave him the address of the church....and didn´t see him again until yesterday :) Andrews knew a lot of the young men and young women in the ward, and I think he really liked the meetings. He didn´t want us to visit him at home because he said there was a lot of contention there with his parents...so we taught him the 1st lesson with Sílvio....haha, and then the rest of the day he went with me and Sister Gibson on all of our visits! He told us that he liked being with us more than he liked being at home... I think he´s going to be baptized and serve a mission someday...he´s already practicing being a missionary! :)

This Sunday was also testimony meeting! Sister Gibson´s last testimony meeting here in Brazil.....the members here love her a lot and everyone was crying when she bore her testimony for the last time here in Timbaúva. I´m going to miss her a lot...she is a great companion and friend. :)

We found many great investigators this week....I am most excited about Ana Carla! She is amazing. Right now she and her husband are building a new home, so we´re hoping to get the elder´s quorum to come and help them some day this week. Ana Carla has so much faith and confidence in Jesus Christ... She is reading and praying about the Book of Mormon and I know that she has a sincere desire to know if it is true. She told us that she still hasn´t received an answer, but that she knows that she will if she continues to read and to ask. Wow...a very faithful and humble answer...I know that Heavenly Father will answer her prayer!

Heavenly Father is so good and kind. I know that He is constantly blessing and guiding us. Thank you for your love and your emails and your prayers family....I miss each one of you!

I love you all!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee

October already! General Conference was wonderful

Olá família!

October already!!! Time is flying here in Brazil.....I am loving and learning every single day! We have been finding many many new investigators this week....it´s keeping us very busy....and very happy. :)

General Conference was wonderful!!!....as always. It was different...and a little sad...to be away from home during General Conference. I thought about you all at home, watching together, and it brought back so many great memories :) I miss you all a lot! It was so great though...the internet wasn´t working in the chapel, so we had both our ward (Timbaúva) and the Montenegro ward gather together in an empty warehouse to watch. We only got to go to the Sunday sessions....and really, I only got to see the Sunday afternoon session because they were having a lot of problems with the volume for the morning session. It was veeeeery quiet...Sister Gibson said she only understood about half...and I understood almost nothing :) haha...But luckily they fixed the problem in time for the afternoon session. It was great! It is amazing how inspired the talks are...I had some specific questions that had been on my mind, and every one was specifically adressed and answered. And I only saw 1 out of 4 sessions :) I know that Heavenly Father knows and loves us....He answers every prayer. I´m so grateful that we have living prophets that are called by Him to lead us and guide us. I especially loved Elder Bednar´s talk about the gift of the Holy Ghost....what a powerful talk! We really can have the companionship of the Holy Ghost with us every second of every day, if we continually desire and do the things that will invite him into our lives. I´ve really learned the importance of having the Holy Ghost with us when we teach...it makes all the difference. You really can feel his presence in the room and you know when the investigators are feeling that what you are saying is true. There is no better feeling....there´s no place in the world I´d rather be when we have lessons like that! I love being a missionary :)

Alex came with us to both sessions....it was a little difficult to convince him to come because he was feeling tired (he works night shifts) and a little down. But he came after much prodding....and Loved it! The talks about the Holy Ghost and the priesthood were perfect for him because he was confirmed last Sunday and will be ordained next week. He told us that it answered all of his questions and made him very excited to receive the priesthood. It was amazing to see the difference in him....he went from being a little depressed and sad to being super upbeat and smiling from ear to ear. The gospel really does bring so much happiness into our lives...we are so blessed! :)

It´s been really difficult to teach Anderson this week...he works until 11pm at night and seems to sleep all morning long :) And when we mark an appointment with him, he never is at home! We´re not sure if he´s hiding from us or if he really is just forgetting... haha, kind of frustrating. But he´s going to play in a band in a Talent Show that we´re having this Friday in the chapel....we have a ton of investigators that play musical instruments or in bands, so we thought a talent show would be a good way to get them to meet people in the ward :) It should be fun! Hopefully we can figure out what he is thinking then....

We are teaching a wonderful family right now....Daniel and Leoni are soo sweet and fun. They´ve been taught by the missionaries before and Daniel has a testimony of the Book of Mormon. The only problem was Leoni...she is much more hesitant about the church and never wanted anything to do with the missionaries before. But I think that right now she is feeling that something is missing in her life and her family and she told us that she wants to learn more about God and the church :) I´m excited for them... They didn´t watch General Conference because it would have been loooong for their two young boys...ages 2 and 3...but they said they´ll come this Sunday!

Well, I am very happy and well here in Montenegro. Thank you soooo much for your emails!!! They made me soooo happy... You are all so wonderful and great and I love you and miss you. Keep being good and remember to be grateful for everything we have. We are so so blessed :)

Have a wonderful week!!!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee

Happy and healthy and smiling here in Timbaúva

Querida família!

Hello dear family!! How are you all doing? I am happy and healthy and smiling here in Timbaúva and I hope you are all the same :)

First of all...I´m sorry this email is so late today! Today has been a craaaaazy busy day...I feel like I´ve been running all day long..and today is P-day!! haha...it´s always funny when you´re day off ends up being the most tiring day of the week! :) But it was a wonderful kind of busy... This morning Sister Gibson and I went to the "forum" with Valdemar and Iracema to see if we could find out more about the divorce papers. Valdemar and Iracema are the cutest couple ever....Valdemar is very old and doesn´t walk very well, but Iracema takes such good care of him...always taking his hand and helping him walk and making sure he is comfortable :) It makes me happy to watch. They have been going to church every Sunday for almost 2 months now....even before I got here! Their testimonies are very strong and they always talk about how excited they are to be baptized someday...but first Valdemar needs to be divorced from his ex-wife so they can be married. And it´s been taking a loooong time. But we found out that the papers have already been signed and hopefully it won´t be much longer until they arrive! I hope I´m still here in Timbaúva to see their baptism....I love them so much!

Sister Gibson and I ate lunch at home and quickly cleaned and washed laundary...and then the rest of the day was spent with another friend that I love...Maria Idelina. :) Maria Idelina is pretty much our adopted grandma here...she is a recent convert and LOVES visits from the missionaries... The only problem is that it is hard to leave once we are there...so it is better to plan for P-day when we have more time to stay and talk :) Today she taught us to make bread and rolls....it was so fun. Maria Idelina is so sweet and loving...but she is super lonely and she worries constantly about her 8 sons who live far away... It makes me happy that we can cheer her up with our visits, but it makes we wish we had time to visit her more! It´s important to realize that we can be a blessing to people´s lives...just with a visit and a smile and a hug! I know we´re here on this earth to be the Lord´s hands...He has confidence in us that we will help His children that need comforting or lifting up!

The rest of the semana was wonderful too....we had a Great lesson with Anderson on Saturday! The Spirit was strong and he was participating a lot in the lesson. Éder, a recently returned missionary from the ward, came with us and shared a powerful testimony about his conversion...it was so great! I could tell that Anderson was feeling the Spirit too...and he said he´d definitely visit the church the next day.....but Sunday came and he didn´t show up :( I was pretty disappointed. Oh well....next week!

Oh! Next week will be General Conference! Wahoo....I am very very excited. How was the RS session Mom and Melissa? Are you going home for GC weekend Melissa? I´ll be thinking about all of you!

Simone and Adelar and their family are doing great! We have been reading the Book of Mormon with them every time we visit....and it´s really making a difference! So much that Simone even started reading the Book of Mormon on here own and is already halfway done with 1st Nephi! I´m so excited....I love that family so much and I´m happy that they´re slowly starting to progress. Simone went to church one week...but it´s difficult for the rest of the family because they own a transportation company and always have a looooot of business on the weekends...especially Sunday mornings. They are an amazing family though....I know they´ll be baptized someday :)

Well...I have a lot more to talk about, but no more time....so until next week!
Remember that I love you all so very very much. You are always in my thoughts and my prayers...it is true. Thank you for being the best brothers and sisters and parents and for always loving and helping me want to be better. I know that Heavenly Father loves us so much. He is always with us.
Have a wonderful week family!
Love, Jamie

Dia do Gaucho!

Hello Family!

This week was a wonderful one in Montenegro! We taught some great lessons and found some new investigators Í´m really excited about. We taught Anderson, a 23 year old, who is really excited about the church! His grandmother, who he lived alone with, passed away last week and now he lives alone. We taught him about the Plan of Salvation and I could tell by his questions that he really loved his grandma and that he already has a lot of faith in God.

And the best part of a wonderful week was that it ended in a baptism!!! Alex was baptized Sunday afternoon after church! It was such a great feeling to be there and to watch him be baptized. The ward was really supporting too, and we had a big group there to watch and to welcome him into the ward. Sister Gibson and I sang "Sim, Eu Te Seguirei" (Lord, I would Follow Thee) afterwards, and Alex had tears in his eyes while we were singing. Alex has such a strong testimony...he´s an amazing example to me! After his baptism he came with us to visit Anderson and teach about the Restoration (haha...he´s already a missionary!) and he bore his testimony about the Book of Mormon and his baptism. Powerful!

Yesterday was Dia do Gaucho here in Rio Grande do Sul....and wow, is it a important holiday for everyone here! It was a lot bigger holiday than Indepence Day was. I was amazed at how much pride everyone here has for their Gaucho culture...it was huge! Parades, dances, music, fairs, Everyone in traditional costume, and churrascos!!!! (my favorite part...:D) It was awesome! We finished the night with a Noite Familiar (Family Night!) with the Bishop and his family and Alex....the Bishop wanted to get to know him better and to welcome him into the ward. We talked about prayer and ate cheesecake that Sister Gibson made.....mmmm. It was great!

Transfers were yesterday......annnnnd...Sister Gibson and I are both staying here in Montenegro in the Timbaúva ward. :) I´m very happy....and not really surprised since this is my first area and Sister Gibson´s last transfer. So..I´ll be her last companion here in Porto Alegre Brasil! It´s strange to hear her talking about going home.....she is getting excited :) But she is a very hard worker too and a very very loving person....it´s amazing how easy it is for her to become immediate friends with the people we meet here! I love her and I´m glad I get to be her companion for 6 more weeks :)

Well family, I only have 30 minutes today because the Internet cafe closes at noon.....everything here closes at noon! From noon until 2 pm everything closes so everyone can eat a huge lunch at home with their families. Lunch is probably the most important time of the day here....haha, it´s a good tradition :) mmmm...

I love you all! Keep doing well in school and in work and having fun!! Remember that Heavenly Father loves you and that He is always there for each one of us.

Brasil! Terra Amada....

Another wonderful week in Montenegro! I am really loving being here and being a missionary! It´s such a happy life :) Constantly meeting and teaching wonderful people about Heavenly Father´s love and plan for us, His children!

The most exciting news of the week is.....we´re going to have a baptism!!! :D On Monday we had a Noite Familiar (Family Night) with Alex and Rita (his cousin, who is a member) and watched The Restoration DVD and afterwards we invited him to be baptized, and he said yes! So Sunday September 19 we´ll be having his baptism in the afternoon after church. I´m so excited :) Alex is a great guy and he already has a strong testimony of the gospel...he is going to be a strong priesthood leader for the ward too. It´s good timing too...because the 21st we have transfers! I´m am very sure that Sister Gibson and I will both stay here though....I only have 5 weeks in Montenegro and this will be Sister Gibson´s last transfer, so it´s unlikely that either of us will be transferred.


The ward here is so great...the members are very loving and they are very willing to help the missionaries, with anything we ask! Especially the young women in the ward...there are 2 girls, Rita and Luana, who are constantly helping us.... coming to teach lessons with us, giving us references... They are both the only members in their families and have very strong testimonies....and even though they´re young (17 and 14....yes I know, perfect huh, Jared and Kyle :) They want to meet you...) they are already talking about when they will be "sisters" :) They are such sweet and fun girls! We just started a new "Integration" activity with the ward...every Friday we´re going to have classes in the chapel....crafts (Young Women), carpentry (elders quorum), music (young mens) cooking (relief society), english (us!).......last Friday was the first one, and it was so much fun! It´s also a great opportunity for us to find new investigators and for the investigators that we are already teaching to meet the ward and start making friendships.... I think it is going to help a lot!

We´re still teaching Simone and Adelar and family....they are such a strong, good family and they love having us come over to visit...they always feed us, and perform for us (Felipe and Adelar play Rio Grande do Sul songs for us on the guitar every time we visit...they´re so great!) Simone is like our mother here...she´s always making sure we have warm clothes and full of food before we leave :) They are an amazing family!! ...but it´s been hard to get them to keep commitments to read and come to church. Yesterday Sister Gibson and I made Book of Mormon calendars for them....haha, just like we did as a family last year, remember? :) I hope it helps them start reading as a family every day...I know that they will feel the difference and the Spirit that comes when you read the Book of Mormon daily. I really love this family and I hope that we can help them start progressing more...

I love you all! You´re in my prayers every night :)
Love, Sister Jamie Gee

Dia de Independencia!

Hola querida família!
Another wonderful week here in Montenegro, Brazil! Sorry I didn´t write yesterday...every internet house was closed because September 7th is Brazil´s Independence Day! :) Sister Gibson and I are teaching some wonderful people right now....I really love them. This week was a veeeery cold one too....it rained every day, all week long. I had to re-wash all of my clothes yesterday that I had washed the week before...because they molded instead of drying :) It´s sunny and beautiful today though!

Alex is really making great progress! He came to church last Sunday (we borrowed a white shirt and tie for him to wear from another member) and really enjoyed it....He even told us afterwards that he was just about to get up and bear his testimony, when the Bishop got up to end the meeting! Oh, and then he called us on Monday and asked us if we could come over that night for a few minutes because he had a "surprise" for us. haha, Sister Gibson and I were very curious....so after our last appointment of the night we went over to his house...and he pulled out a pair of calças socias (slacks) that he had bought to wear to church from now on! Wow...it´s amazing to me how prepared some people are to receive the gospel... I´m very excited for him

Simone also came to church this Sunday! Simone and Adelar are the parents of Felipe and Priscila....and they are a great family that we´re teaching right now! Simone came alone....because Adelar and Felipe had work and Priscila had to stay home with their grandma...but she said she really liked it and that she wants to come again. This Sunday we have Stake Conference in São Leopoldo....which makes it a little difficult for our investigators to come...but hopefully we can get the whole family to come sometime.

Yesterday was especially fun....Dia de Independencia for Brazil! I was very glad that it happened to be on our P-day so that we could celebrate too :) Sister Gibson and I went to watch the desfila (parade) with Simone and Adelar and there family in the morning and then we went to a less-active member´s home for lunch and to learn how to make cuca....de banana! Nuri is 75 years old and has a very strong testimony about the gospel...but I think something happened with some other members years ago that left her very bitter with the church. She is so sweet with us missionaries though....always wanting to feed us and have us visit. She is pretty much our "grandma" here in Montenegro :) Oh, and Nuri is from Uruguay so it´s really fun to practice speaking spanish with her! It is hard to switch back and forth from Portuguese to Spanish! It really makes your brain work....haha

We finished the day with a Noite Familiar (Family Night!) with Alex and Rita and their family. It was so fun...we thought we would just be having a lesson and games, but they surprised us with a churrasco!! My first churrasco in Rio Grande do Sul.....and it was just as good as everyone had said :) Mmmmm....carne de galhina, linguiça, carne de vaca, coração de frango....it was great. I took some pictures that I was hoping to send today...but I left my cable back in the apartment.. I´ll remember next week though, so expect some great pictures of a real Gauchan churrasco!!

As I am writing this email I can hear Chicago playing in the streets..."I am the man who will fight for your honor....I´ll be the hero you´re dreaming of!!" haha...it´s reminding me a lot of you Dad and Ryan! :)

I love you all very much, my dear and wonderful family. Thank you so much for your prayers and emails and love....I miss you all, but I´m very happy to be serving the Lord here in Brazil. He loves us so much and He always always answers our prayers :) I know that is true.
Have a good week and be happy!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee

Tudo Bem em Montenegro!

Another week in Brasil! It was a very good week for me...I really love being here and I love the people we are teaching! It´s such a nice, peaceful town and the families are so strong and loving...definitely a great place to be a missionary :)

Sister Gibson and I left on Wednesday and Thursday to go to Porto Alegre for some training. Well, She went for some training (for all district leaders, zone leaders, and trainers...at the President´s house) and I went to Bom Sucesso to work with 3 other sisters there for the 2 days. It was so great!! I really felt like I was the one that received the training! Sister Osborn and Sister Mota are the companionship that work there and I have never met missionaries that work and teach together with so much unity and love. And it was amazing to me how powerful their lessons were....the minute they started teaching, you could feel the Spirit flood into the room. It really inspired me to try to teach more with the Spirit...to always be filled with love and charity so that I can be worthy to have the Spirit. I hope someday I can be companions with one of them...probably not likely with Sister Osborn because she is leaving in December (and going to BYU-Idaho! Look for her Melissa) But Sister Mota has only been here 6 months!! But anyways it was a great "training" and I think Sister Gibson liked hers too. I was sad to leave after just 2 days....but also excited to get back to the people we are teaching here!

We have some great investigators right now....I am most excited for a young man, Alex, who is so humble and sweet and good and really seems to be sincerely searching for the truth. He is reading the Book of Mormon and always has great questions whenever we stop by. We´ve invited him to come to church for the last two weeks...but he seems very shy and nervous about coming, especially since he doesn´t have a white shirt and tie :) We´re going to try really hard to get him to come this Sunday!

Speaking of Sundays...I got to speak in sacrament meeting this last week! haha...the Bishop came up to me 10 minutes before and told me that the person assigned to give the talk was sick and they needed a replacement. I was so nervous! I spoke about missionary work and the members´ role in helping the missionaries find and teach and provide support for the investigators. I think it went well...and the members said that they could undertand the majority of what I said :) Haha...I thought I could speak Portuguese so well in the MTC! And then I come here and try to talk....and people just look at me blankly and then look over at Sister Gibson to interpret. :) I don´t understand! She repeats the Exact same words that I said...and people actually understand her! Oh well....I hope my accent gets better with time...right now everyone we meet says that I sound like a Venezuelan! I guess that would make sense...I probably am speaking Portuguese with a very heavy Spanish accent :)

Remember that I love you and that Heavenly Father loves you! Read the Book of Mormon...that book has so much power. I am gaining a very strong testimony of that on my mission. I know that it was written by prophets by the Spirit, and that Every time we read, it will bring the Spirit. When you want to talk to Heavenly Father, pray to Him....and when you want Him to answer your prayers, read the Book of Mormon :)
Have a good week!!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee

Primeira Área - Montenegro!

Ola querida familia Gee!
Sorry for another long lapse between this email and the last one....I once again lost my P-day last week due to traaaaveling!

I left the São Paulo CTM on Tuesday morning at 5 am.....much too soon after just 1 short week in that wonderful place. I did get to go to the São Paulo Temple once...but we didn´t get a chance to go street contacting... I was very sad to be leaving all my friends so quickly...I guess that goodbyes are something I´ll be getting used to on my mission :) All the other new missionaries going to Pôrto Alegre arrived last week (August 9th) but I was a week behind them all because of the Provo MTC...so I was traveling alone. It was kind of nice actually, because once I got to the Porto Alegre airport I met President and Sister Pavan and realized that I would have them to myself for the entire day!

President and Sister Pavan are so great...they are from São Paulo and have been here for a year. Sister Pavan is so sweet and friendly and I can tell that President Pavan really cares about each one of the missionaries. I spent the day with them and one of the office missionaries: getting registered at the federal police, eating at another ammmmazing Brazilian buffet (the food here is so incredible!), getting interviewed and trained, and then driving out to Montenegro....a small town about an hour outside of Pôrto Alegre and my first area!!

I met Sisters França and Oliveira (another duple living in my apartment) and my trainer Sister Gibson...and could immediately tell that I was going to be very happy here! Sister Gibson is from Roseville California and is so sweet and outgoing and friendly. It makes it very very easy to become quick friends with all of the people we are teaching...they immediately love her!! It´s a great example to me that we don´t have to know someone super well to be able to genuinely and sincerely love them. We just need to open our hearts and our mouths and be a friend! :)

Montenegro is great! It´s sooo beautiful here....haha, Sister Gibson laughs at me because I keep commenting to her about how amazingly beautiful...but I can´t help it! It´s a small peaceful little town with lots of trees and plants and fields with cows are horses. There are Beautiful dark mountains covered with black trees (hence the name Montenegro). The houses are small, but nice and everyone owns chickens and dogs. Everyone is very friendly and loving and open to hear our messages....but it seems like they´re pretty slow to keep commitments... They love talking about God and about Jesus Christ, but when we talk about them coming to church on Sunday they have no interest at all! I must admit I was a little frustrated at first...this is much different than the picture I had in my mind when I was in the MTC about what missionary work would be like.. I really really love it though.

I love how the people here have so much love and goodness in them. Every one we met wants us to sit down with there family, drink chimarrão and mate, and talk about God. Oh, I must explain chimarrão!! It is sooooo great. I had already heard about mate from my friends who served their missions in Uruguay and Argentina...and chimarrão is basically the same thing, just without sugar. A whole group of family and friends sits in a circle and passes around a cuia (a hard cup made from some plant) with a metal "bomba" (straw) and filled to the top with chimarrão (a green herb that looks a lot like hay) and hot water. Haha, it´s so great...though I admit my first taste was kind of a shock...it´s very bitter! There is also a lot of Uruguayan gaucho (cowboy) influence here....we see them riding their horses down the streets every day. :)
The ward here is very small...but the members have strong testimonies and they love the missionaries. It´s been really fun to get to know them all.

Right now we have two investigators that are very close to baptism...but they both need to get married before that can happen. Valdemar and Iracema are an older couple that have been coming to church for 2 months now! But Valdemar needs to get divorced from his ex-wife before he can marry Iracema...and that hasn´t been happening very quickly. Our other investigator with a baptismal date, Rose, is so sweet. I already love her :) She really wants to get baptized with her 9 year old daughter, but her "husband", Marzo, really doesn´t like the church or the missionaries. He lets her go to church with the children, but always leaves whenever we come to visit....and he does not want to get married. I´m not sure what we can do to help, but it´s nice to be able to visit her and give her our support and love. And I know that Heavenly Father loves each one of His children and that He is leading us along....we just sometimes need to have patience and faith that He is in control.

I guess that´s what I have learned most this week....patience and trust in the Lord. My first few days in the mission field were very very hard.... I can´t understand what anyone is saying here (the country accent is MUCH faster and slurred and impossible to understand than anything I heard in the MTC :) and I was surprised at how different the work we are doing here is than what I had imagined in the CTM.... I wanted to be out finding and teaching and speaking and converting and baptizing.....but things seem to move sooo slowly here. But sometimes it is good to be discouraged I am realizing, because it helps us turn even more to God and to pray even harder. :) I know that He is with us during every moment of our life....He has a plan for us, and that plan includes leading us to perfection...but it will be in His own time and His own way. If we spend our life worrying about where we want to be and the things we want to be doing and accomplishing....we will miss the lessons that God is preparing for us to learn right now. We must have patience and trust that God is teaching us, step by step, the things we need to learn right now. :)

Well, I love you sooooo much! More than you know. Each one of you is always always in my thoughts and in my prayers!!

Bye Bye MTC. Hello to the real thing!!

Jamie has arrived in Porto Alegre and is now working in her first area -- Portão which is a city of only 23,000 just north of Porto Alegre.

Here is a note from the APs in Porto Alegre...

Good afternoon Gee family!
We’re happy to inform you all that your daughter has arrived safely in the mission and in her brand new area.
She arrived Tuesday morning here in Porto Alegre, and that night she was already in her new area. She is currently in the Portão area, which is a great/beautiful area.
We have attached a photo of Sister Gee with President and Sister Pavan. If you guys have any questions, we’re always ready to help!

Élder Forsgren e Élder Marchetti
Assistentes do Presidente Pavan
Missão Brasil Porto Alegre Norte

Ola From Brasil!!; São Paulo CTM; Missionary Choir

Ola minha familia!!!! How are you all doing?? Today is my first and only P-day in the São Paulo CTM........and it´s been wonderful! It is sooo different than the Provo MTC.

First of all, I am the only sister in my district which means I am a solo sister for this week and have no companion. Weird! In Provo, this meant that you were assigned to 2 elders who escorted you around everywhere....but here it just basically means that I can wander alone wherever I want. Haha...it felt sooo strange at first...you really get used to having someone with you 100% of the time! My elders in my district are wonderful though, and we have a lot of fun. I do miss Sister Robson....a lot! I hope she gets her visa soon!!

The first day we were here, the MTC president gave us the whole afternoon as free time to unpack, take naps, and just relax after the 24 hour trip. (Crazy! Nap time?? This place is soooo different than Provo :) I was soooo exhausted that I just collapsed into the bed without even opening a suitcase or taking off my dress. But about a half hour later I woke up in a panic...trying to remember where Sister Robson was and why she wasn´t in the room. Haha...it really took me at least 30 seconds to remember that I was no longer in Provo :)

So.....this place is soooo great!! My absolute favorite thing about the São Paulo CTM is all the Portuguese practice that we get with the Brazilians! The missionaries from Brazil are so nice and they love talking to all of the Americans and helping us with our Portuguese! I really have loved meeting all of them....especially the Brazilian sisters!! They are soooo sweet :) Sister Rodrigues, Sister Brito, and Sister Travassos are a triple that have become my really good friends. I always eat with them at meal time and play volleyball with them at gym. I teach them English and they teach me new words in Portuguese...it´s very fun!

I also love the food here! It´s incredible...rice and beans and 2 different kinds of meat every day, and an amazing buffet of all different kinds of salads and fruits and vegetables. The fruit is so yummy...bananas, and goiaba, and manga, and mamão, and melancia, and caju! I love it :) And there are no lines!!! haha.... The biggest difference between the CTM and the Provo MTC is the size.....it´s so small here!! The CTM has room for 600...but right now there are only 150 here because of the visa issues. The halls are sooo empty! It´s definitely strange after being in the Provo MTC with 2500 missionaries... Today we got to go to the São Paulo Temple and then we had lunch at a rodizio...with churrasco!! It was exactly like Tucanos and sooooo yummy. I ate chicken hearts! Not my favorite...but interesting.

Yesterday the Area President, Elder Ulisses Soares came to speak for the devotional. It was so great...he spoke about how our mission calls really are from God and how we´ve been called to Brasil because there are people that specifically need to hear the gospel from us. It was really inspiring..... The rest of this week should be really fun. They are dedicating a new chapel that is very close by the CTM, so the choir is going to be performing Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night on the street outside the chapel. We´re singing 5 different songs...a mixture of Portuguese and English. I´m so excited!! I really feel the Spirit so strongly when we sing...especially when we sing my favorite of the 5..."Praise The Man"....I love being a missionary and having the calling of sharing the message of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It´s so wonderful to be able to tell people that the gospel of Jesus Chirst has been restored and that God has called a prophet again. I am getting very very excited to be going to Porto Alegre so soon and to start doing missionary work. :) I can´t wait!

Well, I´m doing wonderfully here and still loving being a missionary. I really am so happy that I got to experience the CTM here....even though it´s just for one week. I know that it was a miracle that my visa came....Heavenly Father is watching over each one of us. He is so good and kind and He´s leading us along every day, even when we don´t realize it. I´ll write you all soon hopefully!! I love you a lot!! Thank you for being the best family in the world! :) Eu amo vocês muuuuito!!! Love, Sister Jamie Gee

Jamie is in Brazil!!!

She arrived at the MTC in Sao Paulo this morning after a flight from Salt Lake to Dallas followed by an overnight flight to Sao Paulo.

On Wednesday, she and four elders left the Provo MTC and she called from the Salt Lake airport, but just as she was getting off the phone to board her flight they discovered the flight had been delayed two hours and they turned around and went back to the Provo MTC for one more day as they would have missed the connection in Dallas.

On Thursday/Friday everything went better and she made the connection and arrived in Sao Paulo.

Here is a photo of her with the MTC president and his wife in Sao Paulo Brazil!!




She will only be staying at the Sao Paulo MTC for 11 days. She is set to fly to her mission, Porto Alegre North, on August 17th.

Visa has arrived!!; Flying to Brazil on Wednesday!!

Hello again from the Provo MTC........for the last time!!!! :D :D

Haha, yup that's right, next week I'll be writing from the Sao Paulo MTC!! As you all know, I just found out a few hours ago that my visa is here and that I have flight plans to Sao Paulo for next Wednesday!!!

Wow, I'm excited! It's a strange feeling though....excitement mixed with anxiety mixed with sadness about leaving Sister Robson and the wonderful elders in my district and all the other Portuguese sisters here.... I've really really loved the Provo MTC. It's been a wonderful 6 weeks.... I'm really going to miss Sister Robson. I love her a lot and it's going to be sad to finish up our MTC weeks without each other. We just auditioned for another musical number "I Stand All Amazed" that sounds ammmmaaaaazing.......and now I'm not sure if we'll have time to perform it before Wednesday! I sure hope so...if not we'll just record it ourselves or something :)


This week we had an amazing devotional by Gene R. Cook! It was great. I've really been lucky, getting to hear from a lot of the Emeritus Seventy during July when the general authorities go on vacation. He spoke about faith and how as missionaries and as Latter-Day Saints we have no right to ever let fear get in the way of our faith. Faith cannot exist with fear, and they are both choices that we make. He talked about how when we choose to rely on God and to trust that He can help us do whatever he has asked us to do, then the fear will disappear. It's really wonderful for me to know that God wants us each to succeed, and he Will help us have success. We don't have to fear at all or feel inadequate, because God always qualifies those that He has called as long as they are humble and rely completely on him.

Today was the first P-day that we got to go to the Provo Temple! It was so wonderful to be able to go to the temple again.....I love the feeling of peace and love that I feel every time I am at the temple.

I am soooo excited about going to Brazil! Keep being wonderful as always!! Remember that I love you and that Heavenly Father loves you and that He wants us to be soooo happy! I'll talk to you all on Wednesday!! Enjoy the last few days of the trip and thanks again for all the letters and DearElders.
LOVE YOU!
Love,
Sister Jamie Gee

Visas are starting to come; Guarana; LRC

Hello dear family,
Well it was another fast and happy week at the MTC. The biggest news of the week happened yesterday morning....when 54 Brazilian visas came in!!!!!! There was soooo much excitement and anticipation as names were called down to the travel office all day long. 54!! That's more than half of us! But sadly, neither Sister Robson nor I were one of the lucky 54. So we'll still be here! Haha..at least we're staying together! We were scared that one would stay and one would leave....that would have been sad... But the good news is that 54 visas coming in on a single day means that something is finally getting worked out! I think we'll all be heading to Brazil soon!

I will definitely have a few days warning though, Dad...so there is no need to stress about shoes. I think you should just wait for the gray Earth ones...I get the feeling I'll be finishing my MTC experience here in Provo...but I guess you never know!
I still am loving MTC life! Yesterday we taught for the first time in the TRC completely in Portuguese...and it went super well. We had a lot of practice for it....our district had a weekly goal of teaching 50 lessons as a district in Portuguese. So every spare minute that Sister Robson and I had we spent teaching other missionaries. Haha...I think that a lot of other districts had the same goal because we were also asked to be taught by many many missionaries.....that's a lot of 1st lessons in one week!

Haha...I also learned this week that it really pays to become friends with the senior missionaries! Brother and Sister Hepworth brought me guarana last week to try (the most popular drink in Brazil....it was good!) and Irmao Dennis went out of his way to get me and my district some Brazilian verb cards that our teachers have been trying to get for months! haha...the elders in my district are always commenting on how I'm the most popular missionary at the MTC :) It's funny. But they are happy too...because the Guarana was split evenly between all of us :) haha... It's a yummy drink...kind of like apple beer, but it's made out the guarana berry.

Sister Robson and I also got to be investigators for the missionary from Sao Paulo again, Elder Dantas....I love it! I was also very happy with how much more I was able to understand him just after 1 week! It's so fun to talk to a real native Brazilian and it makes me exxcited to be there soon! Next thursday will be our last time being taught by him, because then he will teach in his mission language...Japanese :) Hopefully we can still get him to practice Portuguese with us once in a while though!


Love always,
Sister Jamie Gee

Singing for Relief Society; More TRC experiences

Wow..can you believe that it is already Friday again? The weeks are definitely flying by....it's hard to believe that it's already been a month since you dropped me off at the MTC! Has time been going just as fast for you at home? It sounds like you're all staying busy with a lot of wonderful summer things :) I loooved all the pictures you sent last week from the Smith Family Reunion! I was just showing them all to Sister Robson....I love you all so much :D

I didn't have time for them all to download last week....so I just barely saw the picture of the Freedom Festival 5K. I didn't know that you all ran the 5K!! How was it?? It looks like it was sooo fun! I'm going to run it with you in 2012...so keep running!

This week was a super fun week at the MTC! I didn't realize that being a missionary was going to be so much fun...I knew that I would like it, but I thought it would be more work than fun :) And it is work...well, at least a lot of studying...but it's the kind of work that just makes you super happy inside all of the time! It also helps that I'm surrounded by so many wonderful friends. Sister Robson and I have so much fun, and the 3 other sisters in my room are so great! It feels like a party ever night...right up until 10:30 of course :)

Speaking of Sister Robson, guess what! She and I got to perfom a musical number last Sunday in the MTC auditorium! On the beautiful piano on the big screen in front of everyone! Well...in front of all the sister missionaries at least, since we were performing in Relief Society :) She sang "I Feel My Savior's Love" and I accompanied her on the piano. It was very pretty I thought! We're working on another song, "I Stand All Amazed", right now...but it's a harder piano accompaniment,so I'll need a week or so of practice before we're ready to audition. You will all have to go onto YouTube next week and type in "I Feel My Savior's Love - O Amor do Salvador" to look for it! I think Sister Robson's sister is going to put it up next week sometime :)

I'm also beginning to be really good friends with some of the senior missionaries here...they are really some of my favorite people here. They are all so sweet and loving and it's amazing to me how humble and willing they are to serve the Lord and do whatever he asks them to do. There are two couples we see all the time! They're both going to Brazil too and have been delayed for a month now waiting for their visas! I think they're getting very anxious to go :) It's fun having them here though. Elder Hepworth is always telling us cool stories about his first mission to Brazil, what life is like in Porto Alegre and Florianopolis (Sis. Robson's mission) and Sister Hepworth likes to look up things for us on the internet that we're wanting to know....haha, the senior missionaries get special privileges here!

Portuguese is going wonderfully for me! I'm really starting to feel very comfortable and I think I'm using less and less Spanish words....haha. I'm really glad that I decided to learn Spanish 2 years ago...it's making it so much easier.

My favorite part of the MTC is still the TRC where we get to teach "investigators" each Thursday. Every time we go I can feel the Spirit so strong....especially when I share my testimony of Jesus Christ and the Atonement. It's such a wonderful feeling to be able to tell someone that God loves them and knows them. We're switching over this week from english to teach completely in Portuguese. I'm very excited!
Yesterday was especially fun at the TRC, because I got a chance to be the investigator!

Elder Dantas is from Sao Paulo and he just got here last week and he doesn't speak much English at all. He's going to Japan so eventually he'll teach in Japanese, but for the first 4 weeks they like to focus more on the teaching, so we teach in our native language. Last week he tried teaching in English with his companion, but it was very hard for him...so this week they decided to let him teach in Portuguese so he'd be able to get more out of it. So Sister Robson and I got to be the investigators for him and his companion! Elder Dantas taught me in Portuguese and his companion taught Sister Robson in English! It was very fun and I really liked being able to talk with a native Brazilian! He talked faaaaast...and his accent was so pretty. I can't wait to be in Brazil! Woot!

Well I love you all! Stay happy and safe and remember that Heavenly Father loves you! Thank you for being the best family ever and for always making me feel loved! That's what families are for....to help each other and build each other up with love and support and our testimonies! You all do that for me! I love you!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee